Localized Universal Health Care, a work in progress
BAGUIO CITY – (April 22, 2021) – Councilor Joel Alangsab has his hands full reworking his proposed ordinance institutionalizing the Universal Health Care (UHC) in the City of Baguio.
The proposed ordinance will be revised for its approval on second reading taking into account the observations and recommendations given by the other city council members during the regular session last Monday.
In 2019, the Department of Health (DOH) chose Baguio City as a site for the advance implementation of the Universal Health Care Act (Republic Act No. 1123).
Serving as one of the resource speakers during the council deliberation, Michael Capuyan, City DOH Office-UCH Development Management Officer IV, said the institutionalization and localization of the UHC through a local legislation will enhance and strengthen the implementation of the Universal Health Care Act. The local law will also tailor-fit the universal health care programs to the specific needs of the local government unit, he added.
The UHC will integrate all health systems in the city with the end goal of ensuring effective, efficient, and affordable delivery health services adhering to a framework that “fosters a whole-of-system, whole-of-government, whole-of-society, and people-oriented approaches.”
One complication that the UHC seeks to address is the fragmentation of the country’s current health system, particularly the fragmented health financing mechanism, resulting in health inefficiencies and health inequities.
Under Section 20 of the IRR of the Act, a special health fund (SHF) will be established where all resources intended for health services are pooled and managed including financial grants and subsidies from national government agencies, income from PhilHealth, and other sources such as, but not limited to, financial grants and donations from non-government organizations, faith-based organizations, and official development assistance.
The SHF will be utilized in financing population-based and individual-based health services. It will also be used to cover operating costs, capital investments, and remuneration and incentives for all health workers.
An integrated procurement system is believed to expedite and organize the procurement process of health essentials needed by the city’s health facilities.
Capuyan revealed that the Local Health Board assumes the responsibility of managing the SHF, thus having the authority to determine and approve the use of the pooled resources, as the law provides.
The Local Health Board will be created through the UHCA and the ordinance and will be headed by the City Mayor as Chairperson and the City Health Services Officer as Vice-Chairperson.
According to Capuyan, other health components that will be enhanced through the UHC aside from the procurement process are the supply chain and management system, the Health Facility Development Plan, and the clinical practice guidelines.
Jennifer Valenzuela, City DOH Office Development Management Officer IV, explained that the UHC also aims to streamline the management, integration, and linkages of health facilities in the localities in order to address fragmentation issues in the delivery of health services.
“Primary care facilities or the district health centers will be linked to higher facilities like our Levels I and II hospitals which are the private hospitals in the city and to a level III hospital or the apex hospital, the highest level, which is the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center,” Valenzuela explained.
Through the integration of the local health system, there is continuity in providing health care to the community as it enhances the referral mechanism for individuals in need of medical attention, she added.
Once implemented, the UHCA and the ordinance will require the restructuring of the City Health Services Office (CSHO) creating two divisions, the Health Service Delivery Division headed by an Assistant City health Services Officer and the Health Systems Support Division also to be headed by another Assistant City Health Services Officer.
An incremental increase in the human resource of the CHSO for health positions will take place in order to comply with the standards set by the UHCA.
Dr. Rowena Galpo, CHS-Officer, said some positions prescribed by the UHCA already exist in the current plantilla of the CHSO.
Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda requested the CHSO to prepare a financial plan which will guide the City Government in the incremental creation of health positions as regards the City’s financial capability.
Alangsab is currently coordinating with different concerned offices and individuals and laying the groundwork for the revision of the proposed institutionalized UHC along with two other proposed ordinances aligned with the UHCA.
The other two proposed ordinances are: Institutionalizing the City Epidemologic and Surveillance System of Baguio City aligned with the Universal Health Care Act; and Adoption and Institutionalization of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management for Health (DRRM-H) System in the City of Baguio, Integration of the Same into the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management System (CDRRM) and Allotting Funds thereof.
The councilor hopes to file the revised drafts of the three proposed ordinances to the city council the soonest possible time for their approval on second reading. -Jordan G. Habbiling
